Law360 Canada ( January 23, 2026, 9:35 AM EST) -- Appeal by Breton from an order forfeiting over $1.2 million in cash seized from his garage to the Crown. The appellant had previously been acquitted of all criminal charges, including possession of proceeds of crime, after the trial judge excluded all evidence under s. 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (s. 24(2)) due to unlawful searches. The exclusion of the evidence resulted in the Crown calling no evidence. Following the acquittal, the Crown brought a forfeiture application for the seized cash. The appellant applied to have the evidence excluded from the forfeiture proceeding. This time, the trial judge declined to exclude the cash and ordered that the cash be forfeited to the Crown. The appellant argued that issue estoppel barred the trial judge from finding his possession of the cash was unlawful and from conducting a fresh s. 24(2) analysis. In the alternative, he argued that the trial judge erred in concluding that the evidence was admissible on the fresh s. 24(2) analysis. The appellant asserted that the acquittal precluded a finding of unlawful possession and that the evidence should have remained excluded. The Crown argued that the appellant’s acquittal did not bar the Crown from seeking forfeiture of the seized funds and that issue estoppel did not preclude the trial judge from conducting a fresh s. 24(2) analysis....